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Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
Cringeworthy writing ruins possibility at a good video game movie
When I first heard about this film I was worried. When the two trailers dropped they gave me hope but after seeing the final film I was left feeling empty as if I spent money on nothing.
The plot is simple... a Pikachu w/ amnesia teams up w/ his partner's son (Tim) to find him.
The cast includes Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Kathryn Newton (Blockers) and Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest).
It was directed by Rob Letterman, who was also one of FOUR writers on the screenplay.
Let's start w/ some of the very few positives. The first/best thing this film has going for it is Ryan Reynolds and his quick wit, which has seen him typecast as the smart ass (typecasting started primarily w/ "Deadpool" and a couple films before but were one of the main causes in his casting here). Secondly; Justice Smith gave a decent/serviceable performance. Lastly the Pokémon designs look very good and surprisingly translate well over from standard animation to CGI life-like animation.
Now the bad... and by god there's a lot of bad. Firstly it has some of the most p**s poor writing for a big budget film in 2019. It is full of terrible exposition that ends up great if more plot holes than it set up to cover. There is a massive plot hole that'll only become clear at the end but will infuriate a majority of people. Secondly; the remainder of the performance's in the film are terrible. While Bill Nighy isn't as guilty as others he gets the standard villain (not a spoiler, it's common sense w/ his casting and a majority of people picked it up when he was announced in the film) I want to take over the world because I can (...I guess). What's worse than the villains motivations is how the movie's ignorance to the extreme unoriginality of this disgraceful attempt to have a villain w/out putting in the actual hard work of coming up w/ an original motivation. I was cringing, literally cringing during the final quarter of this film due to how much worse it got w/ campy (not so bad it's good, just bad) acting and the writing. Oh my god... the writing in this is so terrible, it's actually amateurish. The script seems to have been written by someone of a low IQ or someone who just got lazy knowing that it's primary audience is kids so why put effort in.
A lot of people will sit back reading this review and say "it's made for family's, don't be so harsh on it". Nonetheless of it's intentions it is a movie nonetheless and I shall review it as a movie.
All up this is a really mediocre film that is not worth the time when there are plenty of better written family films.
True Detective (2014)
Season Three: Hauntingly Dark & Grim Season of a Brilliant Show
"True Detective" Season Three is the third season of the so far consistently great (yes, even the incredibly underrated Season Two) HBO show; "True Detective". Each season contains two lead detective characters played by extremely talented actors. Season One was Matthew McConaughey ("Killer Joe" / "Dallas Buyers Club") and Woody Harrelson ("Natural Born Killers" / "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"). Season Two was Vince Vaughn ("Wedding Crashers" / "Brawl in Cell Block 99") and Colin Farrell ("Phone Booth" / "Seven Psychopaths"). This third season contains Mahershala Ali ("Moonlight" / "Green Book") and Stephen Dorff ("Felon" / "Leatherface").
Season Three is a crime drama that jumps between 1980, 1990, and 2015, it is about Arkansas detective Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali) who spends decades investigating the murder of a young boy and the kidnapping of sister - a crime he had investigated w/ his then partner detective Roland West (Stephen Dorff).
Firstly all the directors; Jeremy Saulnier (E01 / E02), Daniel Sackheim (E03 / E06 / E07 / E08) and Nic Pizzolatto (E04 / E05), all do an absolute phenomenal job in their respected directing duties. Each episode is never drastically different from the previous and maintains a very dark and grim tone to match it's subject matter. Each episode is directed w/ such care and professionalism that it truly is astounding.
The writing is just excellent throughout and maintains a sense of extreme realism that is missing from 95% of crime shows; past and present. It is sharp, realistic, extremely natural and sometimes prophetic. The dialogue just sounds so real when you hear it coming from the actors. It is that sort of writing that helps immerse you in the story and the world it's taking place in. There are two very beautifully noteworthy pieces of writing in E03. The first is during a scene set in the 90's when Roland pays a friendly visit to the missing girl's father; Tom Purcell, and they talk about having moved on and even pray together. The prayer spoken is both beautiful and haunting in the implications it makes of Tom's past. The second is during a scene set in 2015 when Wayne is haunted by figment of his wife, that is in his head. She talks about time being an illusion and seeing the past clearly. It is this sort of dialogue that is a prime example of why this show gets so much well deserved praise.
The cinematography by Germain McMicking (E01 / E02 / E03 / E06 / E07 / E08) and Nigel Bluck (E04 / E05) during this season is mind blowing in how precise and how well thought out it is. When watching this show you feel like you're watching a high budget true crime documentary especially in thanks due to how it is was shot; showing you what's important and drawing you to look all of the screen like a detective would have to. Shots are perfectly framed as such to give you subtle meaning that can't be picked up through the dialogue.
When they say that casting is 90% of directing they are certainly not wrong and especially in regards to this show. Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff are excellent as the two lead characters; Wayne Hays and Roland West, but there is also a standout performance by supporting actor Scoot McNairy as Tom Purcell. Mahershala Ali who had won an OSCAR for "Green Book" during the release of this season shows us exactly why he deserved it. Mahershala's performance is one that has such nuances to it and helps you see his character's obsession for finding out what happened as well as showing us a man who is haunted by his past. One minute he's confident and determined, then next he's vulnerable and lost, then he's angry and broken. It's that kind of rapid on and off that Mahershala really shows of his acting in a way that most actors these days can't pull off w/out creating inconsistencies in their character. Stephen Dorff gives an almost equally great performance, one that brings back memories of his excellent performance as Wade Porter in the 2008 Ric Roman Waugh directed and written crime/thriller; "Felon". His performance as Roland West gives us a very great character who is more sympathetic towards victims but also feels more desensitised to the job, than his partner. The character of Roland is one of a man who's bottled up and alone, Stephen's performance accurately represents the character to perfection and you often don't feel like you're watching Stephen Dorff, you feel like God or an outside entity that is just there watching Roland in the life he has created for himself. Both the two leads; Mahershala and Stephen, have excellent chemistry together that you'd be convinced they've known each other for years. It's both of their acting and the previously mentioned excellent dialogue. Scoot McNairy is very much deserving of a PrimeTime Emmy for his performance as the grieving father; Tom Purcell. He's an actor whose career is I have been following for a while now w/ often consistently great performances even in films who's quality is lesser than the acting he is providing. As the character of Tom; Scoot gives such raw emotion of loss that is so convincing in it's authenticity that it almost becomes both heartbreaking and unbearable to watch. Back to what I was saying about the scene between Roland and Tom in E03; the two characters give such a beautiful and real performance together that it makes you feel like some dirty man peaking from behind a key hole, looking in on a formerly grieving man and the detective who cares more than he shows. Carmen Ejogo is in the show as Wayne's wife and former teacher of the Purcell kids; Amelia. While Carmen does give this occasionally deep performance as Amelia, the character herself isn't entirely memorable and just feels there. While important to the plot during a few scenes the character feels inconsistent in what she wants and who she is. Carmen's really good performance is unfortunately not enough to save this character from disappearing to the back of your mind when she's not onscreen.
Other aspects such as editing, costume design and set design are all great. Editing is calm and keeps shots long w/out cutting between different angles/shots like someone w/ ADHD (looking at you "Bohemian Rhapsody"). Costumes accurately representing each individual time period it is set in and are all excellent. Set design is much like the costume design in that it accurately represents the time period w/out fault.
All up this show or rather in particular; this season, is a brilliant piece of TV. Many crime shows these days are still procedural rather than a plot driven. Even some procedural shows like "Law & Order: SVU" now carry continuous subplots throughout their later episodes to standout from the crowd. It is circumstances of other shows that help "True Detective" standout but it is it's own quality that makes it a great show. It's not great just in comparison other shows, it's great on it's own merits and has no one to thank for it except it's own talented team behind. HBO have once again proven themselves the master of drama. While HBO shows are often well written alongside being full on in regards to sex, violence and swearing, this show is the more subtle side of HBO but even w/ it's subtly it is very grim and very bleak. I'd recommend this show and especially this season to anyone who's looking for that next TV show binge. Whether or not they want another crime show, another HBO show or just another show in general.
Rating (Season Three): 9.7/10
Midsommar (2019)
A Flawless, Brilliant and Disturbingly Surreal Horror Film
"MIDSOMMAR" was a brilliant and disturbing film that makes you feel dirty for watching it. It feels like a surreal snuff film that you'd get in trouble for watching.
The plot is; after a family tragedy, a woman goes w/ her boyfriend and his friends to Sweden to a festival known as Midsommar. A few days in and the festivities don't seem as innocent as initially thought.
The direction was unquestionably OSCAR worthy and felt extremely thought out. Nothing in this film felt slacked off. It had a sense of direction that 90% of films are lacking these days.
The writing was excellent and subtly foreshadows upcoming events. It had very smooth flowing dialogue that worked well in part thanks to the actors casted.
Cinematography was just excellent and beyond words superb. It really captures the film and atmosphere. It shows what it wants and in a way that it wants. No shot ever feels like it didn't have any thought put into it, it all feels thought out and for a reason. I could see an OSCAR for Best Cinematography in its future w/ the right campaign behind it.
The acting was great throughout and from every cast member in the film. When they say that casting is 90% of directing, in this case they are absolutely right! The cast was perfect and had such chemistry that it felt like we were truly watching a real group of friends taking a vacation to a Midsommar festival.
The musical score throughout is the real atmosphere builder. It creates a sense of uneasiness even during scenes of calm to emphasise the calm before the storm.
The film's gift is that you never know when the storm when the storm arrives. Sudden scenes when the elders give themselves to the other life catch you off guard after innocent scenes of festivities. The storm is a hurricane and hits hard.
All up the film is just pure slow burn horror brilliance that is one of the Top Five films of the year.
Rating: 8.4/10
Sweet Virginia (2017)
A Brilliant Neo-Noir Slow Burn Thriller
"Sweet Virginia" is a gritty neo noir film starring Jon Bernthal, Christopher Abbott, Imogen Poots and Rosemarie DeWitt.
The plot is; a former injured rodeo champ and now Virginian motel owner; Sam Rossi (Jon Bernthal), befriends a young man; Elwood (Christopher Abbott), who lives his life by a gun.
The film is a brilliant piece of cinema and definitely the second best film of 2017 ("Shot Caller" takes first place for best film of 2017). The direction is great and nothing feels poorly thought out. The writing is excellent and thrilling, it keeps you on edge w/ amazing character driven dialogue. It doesn't force out exposition or anything unnecessary. The cinematography is phenomenal and truly shows off what could of been a dull town and turns it into shots of beauty. The cinematography is driven based on situations and tone. It is shot as great as it's written instead of looking like generic modern cash-grab thriller. The cinematography helps it stands out and will draw in audiences to watch what is an excellent thriller.
The acting is excellent from Jon Bernthal who gives a charismatic and brooding performance as Sam Rossi. Christopher Abbott also gives an excellent performance as Elwood, the weird and calculated gunman. Imogen Poots' acting is quite good albeit not as much as it was in "Green Room". Rose DeWitt gives a much better performance than Imogen Poots as another female lead, especially considering the amount of material given. Jonathan Tucker and Garry Chalk have a small ten minute role in the beginning and they still give it 110%.
The whole film is just pure brilliance and is one of the best slow burn thrillers of all time. It's got everything you need; thrills, great writing, great direction, and excellent acting.
Rating: 8.6/10
Grave Encounters (2011)
A Found-Footage Film that Works Better than Most
"Grave Encounters" is a 2011 found-footage horror film starring Sean Rogerson, Merwin Mondesir, Ashleigh Gryzko and Mackenzie Gray.
The plot is; a ghost hunting television crew lock themselves into a supposedly haunted former mental asylum when things get more than real.
It is written by The Vicious Brothers but due to the found footage nature of the film it's too hard to tell how much dialogue is improvised. Direction is also hard to comment on due it's found-footage nature.
The acting seems consistently decent throughout out and Sean Rogerson seems to give the better of the performances.
The film is creepy and scary at times w/ some surprises that come out of nowhere. The films isn't entirely reliant on jump scares as much as it is it's creepy atmosphere. There is some truly creepy moments in this film that will truly give you some chills that'll stick w/ you for months. The backstory behind why it's haunted is a bit cliché but still quite creepy.
I'd definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a good found-footage horror film. Only problem is the limited times you have to watch this film as it's only a film that is only truly effective in the dark and at night.
Rating: 7.3/10
Hangman (2017)
My Common Sense Media Review
"Hangman" is a crime/thriller by Johnny Martin that stars Al Pacino, Karl Urban and Brittany Snow. The story is a homicide detective teams up w/ a criminal profiler to catch a serial killer who's killings are inspired by the kids game; Hangman.
I was a bit concerned when I first heard of this film because the director's only recognisable film is "Vengeance: A Love Story" which is another straight to DVD Nicolas Cage film. Also cause for concern was both the talented Al Pacino and talented Karl Urban have been appearing in quite a few straight-to-DVD movies and waistline their talents. When I watched this film I was pleasantly surprised at how not terrible it was. I mean there is no memorable antagonist like in other serial killer films such as "Copycat" (1995) or "SE7EN" (1995) but luckily enough two out of the three leads are very well acted. Al Pacino and Karl Urban still manage to give good performances even despite the average material. Brittany Snow's performance is actually quite lacklustre, very flat and one note.
The violence in this film is mainly off-screen but hanging bodies can be quite disturbing to see. A woman slits her wrist graphically which can both disturbing and distressing to watch if you've know someone who has committed suicide. Numerous post violence scenes that often are decently graphic. There are also scenes of struggles as the killer attempts to subdue his impending victims.
Swearing is your typical R rated amount w/ two or three dozen f-words, a load of b-words and s-words. It's nothing on a Scorcese or Tarantino level but it's definitely not PG-13.
There is female nudity throughout the film but primarily on the victims corpses and nothing deliberately sexualising.
The film is all up a decently good film but nothing amazing and nothing great. This film could of been a hell of a lot better if it was longer and developed the killer or at least the twist more. I'd give it a 6.3/10 mainly due to the two male leads and it's entertainme factor.
This film while not extremely graphic has quite a few disturbing scenes and these scenes as well as the coarse language is why I wouldn't recommend this for anyone under 16 years old.
Widows (2018)
Potential to Be a Masterpiece
This film is from the director of "12 Years A Slave" so if you're expecting another masterpiece then you might be disappointed because this film was almost a masterpiece but unfortunately fell short. The film's payoff; the heist, went too quick and felt a little underwhelming despite the incredible musical score.
A great cast w/ Viola Davis, Michele Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya and Liam Neeson. The actors all were absolutely incredible and I had hoped to see some acting related OSCAR nominations for this film but was seriously disappointed at The Academy's highly debatable decision. Viola Davis steals the show from all the female leads and gives a performance of raw emotion and desperation. Brian Tyree Henry is a very enjoyable actor to watch, giving a solid performance that is threatening while disguised as the calm before the story... the storm that is Daniel Kaluuya's character. Daniel Kaluuya is absolutely terrifying in his role and even w/ little words said his body language is some of the greatest since the era of German Expressionism. Colin Farrell had a surprising amount of screen time and it's very well deserved as his acting in this is as excellent as it was in "Phonebooth" (2002). For unavoidable spoiler reasons I will not go into detail about Liam Neeson's acting.
Each shot gives a sense of uneasiness due to some good cinematography by Seam Bobbitt who has previously worked on the director's other films such as "12 Years a Slave" and "Shame". Each shot gives off a sense of tension even in scenes of calm. A lot of still shots add to the tension as you can only see what's there and are unable to move.
The musical score was composed by the man who composes it all; Hans Zimmer. Hans Zimmer's music really builds tension and is absolutely nail biting. His music alone puts you on the edge of your set, yet alone having it accompany an already intense scene. His music as per usual doesn't need much say so all I will say is that nothing has changed w/ him because the music is great.
This film has some very emotionally and physically strong female characters. These characters are layered and are very refreshing compared to two dimensional female characters from films like "Resident Evil" or "Charlie's Angels".
While I do recommend this film I do not strongly recommend it like I do Steve McQueen's other film "12 Years A Slave". This film is a pretty good film but can be so much better.
Final Rating: 7.3/10
Halloween (2018)
My Review for Common Sense Media
This film is from the director of the director of the beloved comedy film "Pineapple Express", the critically divisive comedy "Your Highness", the excellent drama film "Stronger" as well as the extremely underrated Nicolas Cage film "Joe". I was a bit skeptical knowing this director's history being w/ comedy and drama but was very impressed after I had seen it. Part of my love is also in thanks to horror powerhouse producers Blumhouse and screenwriter Danny McBride.
The first half of the film is by far the best w/ beautiful (albeit not OSCAR worthy) cinematography and superb musical score. An unmasked Michael Myers was really creepy and looked really terrifying. I ended up wanting more of unmasked Michael after he had put his mask on. Michael is so much more unhinged and violenct than he has been in any other film (w/ the exception of the Rob Zombie films). The kills in this film have variety but do include Michael's signature stabbing and strangling. There are so many standout scenes in this film such as Michael Myer's getting transported to the next facility, the discovery of the crashed transport bus (very damn creepy scene), ect. Jamie Lee Curtis does so well in this film as she had done w/ the previous films of the franchise that she had appeared in. Judy Greer; who I love in so many other films, was just so average and annoying here then does a complete character 360° at the end of the film which felt so forced as wel as out of place. Andi Matichak as Allyson (Laurie Strode's granddaughter) felt like every other generic teen character in slasher films. She offered nothing special and didn't have the same charm or likeability as Jamie Lee Curtis did in the original. Both Jefferson Hall and Rhian Rees are two of the more interesting characters. They portray two journalists writing a story of the slayings that had occurred back in 1978. They're both excellent in their roles and are more than two-dimensional Michael bait. Haluk Bilginer as the new Dr Loomis; Dr Sartain, also does fantastic in the movie even up to that forced twist but even w/ that twist he plays it off incredibly. Lastly, Will Patton is really good as Officer Hawkins and does well w/ all the screen time he is given.
The violence in this film is bordering on being as gory as Rob Zombie's 2007 remake. A man has his head banged against a door till it kills him leaving him bloodied on the ground, a woman is beaten to death w/ a hammer, a kid is strangled, a man is shot, a teen gets impaled on a fence, a man gets his head destroyed after Michael stomps on it (extremely graphic), ect. This is more violent than all the original films put together.
Typical swearing w/ 23 f-words as well as multiple uses of the s-word, b-word and other minor expletives. A few of the f-words are said by a ten year old kid.
While there is no sex scenes there is a large amount of sexual dialogue which is to be expected from a write such as Danny McBride.
The film all up is a very good sequel to the 1978 classic and the sequel we deserved from the beginning but it's better late than never. I would give this film a 7.4/10 and do think the first half of the film is so much better than the generic slasher second half of the film.
This film however is definitely not for kids due to graphic and bloody violence that it contains. I'd recommend this to 17yo at the very least and think no parent should take anyone younger to see it.